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I don’t know that we always look to iOS to see what’s next in Android app development, but when it comes to apps like Hangouts and Gmail from Google, we certainly have more than once (calls in Hangouts, anyone?). Take for example today’s Hangouts overhaul that just went live through iTunes.

The update introduces a brand new UI to the app that makes it “optimized for iOS 7.” I can’t exactly say that I’m a fan of the 4-category paginated approach, but some of the new features would be more-than-welcomed on Android. In version 2.0 of Hangouts on iOS, users can send animated stickers, favorite conversations so that you aren’t always looking at an endless list of them, send 10-second video clips, and swipe across conversations to get actionable items like Favorite, Video, Mute, and Archive. There are deeper controls over specific contacts as well.

Tough to tell if or when we’ll see any of these new features on Android, but I’d be surprised if 10-second video clips, animated stickers, and favorites don’t make their way over at some point. The UI setup can stay on iOS, though.

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Because just like the example given with Sony.. They care about their home ( Japanese market ) the most. Google obviously is going to do their beta testing on the user group of the least strategic value so when they release the new features to their high value Android users the r experience is smooth since they worked out the bugs with the iOs folks. They have done this with other apps in the past just look at the UI overhauls done on YouTube. The new UI was rolled out months sooner on IOS but it was buggy however when the android app was updated it was flawless.. At least on my devices.

zemerin

I think the first thing we should be worried about is getting hangouts to be the default messaging/SMS app on all android phones. The general public isnt even aware of Hangouts and its a shame, I love the idea of it.

GuenoleK

I really don’t understand.. It’s the second time. First was the voice calls. That we still don’t have.. Now all these new features..

dsignori

I very very much prefer the paginated approach. I hope it does come to Android. It’s much more logical and intuitive.

Randy Rowland

As Robin Williams once said, “We’re no longer in the “Special Olympics” category.” “Give it to them, they’re damaged people!” Then iOS users are like, “Thank you for the ball. I got a ball.”

the iOS app and Android app have different teams….clearly, either A. one team is much better/faster than the other, or B: one platform is much easier to develope on than the other.

why should one app get held up just because its the “visiting team”? Google wants as many people as possible to be on hangouts, a great way to do that is to push awesome updates to a vast majority of people when the app is ready….not to have it ready, and sit on it for months.

also, keep in mind that at launch, the iOS app was horrible….and i know of 5 people that couldn’t stand the app and uninstalled it and went to a different messaging app….and I’m sure they are not alone. Google needs to do something to get those people back.

we will get our update people, just hang tight.

and i personally hope they dont adopt that pale green color for outgoing texts….that is ugly IMO.

normmcgarry

I believe the reason is because these core Android apps usually depend on an update to Google Play Services as well, so they can’t release the updates until they finish the latest update cycle of Google Play Services. Whereas on iOS, these updates are all self-contained in the apps and aren’t dependent on core OS updates.

Tim242

Ummmm no.

Shane Redman

Android users (one would assume) already have hangouts on the forefront. Hangouts on iOS, or any other IM client, has to compete with iMessage first and foremost. Maybe that’s why they get updates first? Just theorizing…

Robert Macri

If this helps get my IOS friends to use hangouts, then I’m all for it.

Tyler Casilio

I actually don’t like that UI, I like some but very little. I think we will be getting an update of some kind soon though

donkeykong85

i switched back to messenger. every time i went to text a new person it would try to invite them to hangouts and couldnt tell that i was trying to text rather than send them a message via hangout.

Jim Davis

I installed Textra on my Nexus 5 because I couldn’t stand the way text messaging works in Hangouts.

archercc

Dont give a rats about stupid stickers. The favorites, vines, interface and gestures would be welcome though.

Turb0wned

I keep saying this. With Motorola potentially being screwed over with Levono, the Nexus phones being cut off and the iPhone finally getting a bigger screen this year, android is a mess and I will be right back to the iPhone.

chris_johns

simmer down

yummy

Scrapple for breakfast

Elliot Kotis

Ewww, I saw someone thought that iOS7 was a better UI, you idiot, have you tried AOSP?! either that your you are a troll. The update cae to iOS to suit the rest of it, Hangouts already suited android.

Chris

Someone is a “troll” because of a personal preference?

Not sure how a service thats not just a android app “already suited android”

No matter how bad Android people talk about Apple, apps will always mimic Apple. Lets face it Apple has the best UI, Android is so slow with change or improvements. Hangouts is an awesome app and its nice to see a change in UI hopefully it’ll come to Android base phones.

Serf33

Android is slow with change???? Is that why IOS looked EXACTLY the same from day one until they finally updated the look with IOS7???

NexusMan

Exactly…but you left a part off from your comment….” until they finally updated the look with IOS7 to play catch up with Android which had long surpassed them???” There. That’s better.

Don’t agree at all. And I think most people who choose Android over iOS feel the same as I do. I honestly don’t care for iOS’s design. I’m not saying it’s bad, by any means, but it comes down to a matter of taste, and Android suits mine better.

Russ

I really wouldn’t complain too much. Hangouts on iOS has looked terrible and half-assed for long enough (and the iPad version was just a blown-up, space-wasting version of the phone version) that this is really only catching up. Sure, they have a couple new features and got a couple steps ahead (stickers and 10 second video are kind of cool, I guess), but Android has had a nicer looking interface for a while. I’m just happy that Hangouts will no longer be painful to use on my iPad compared to its slickness on my Moto X.

Chris

the interface looks the same. Just one is more boxy then the other…

Bionicman

funny enough after using hangouts for a while with SMS, i switched back to the note 3 stock SMS app as it is faster and didn’t have this weird bug that wouldn’t show my last message sent like it did in hangouts. I did enjoy it while it lasted and i’ll probably try it again in the near future.

I love that they are updating the iOS app but they really have it backwards, iOS should be waiting for the update, not android.

jnt

Well for what it’s worth, the iOS app was incredibly behind before this update, it was pretty bad… honestly it was overdue for an update.

Chris

and I’m sure those features will come to Android. Theres no need to throw a fit over it

HaveSomeVodka

WHAT THE HELL

marclee

we are always like second-class citizens to Google…..

Bradon Says

Holy cow, the conversation view is hidious and inefficient. If that comes to Android I’m going to have to try to find an alternative. Hopefully its just like that in ios to stay consistent with apple ugly style.

Kyle Wilkins

I jumped the Hangouts ship awhile back. Try evolveSMS man. So smooth now and consistently updated at least once every three days.

Smeckle

Anybody else have problems getting Hangouts to recognize mobile phone numbers for certain contacts? I can text anybody from stock messaging, but if I try to create a new SMS in Hangouts for certain contacts, they do not show up as an option while I’m typing their names, or it only gives me their G+ contact, not their SMS number. Extremely annoying.

Joshua P.

I’ve had this problem, there seems to be a lag for when the contact is created and when it syncs to the cloud and back to hangouts. Eventually it syncs and the contacts and pictures appear, but in some cases it has taken days for me.

Smeckle

Thanks, I’ll have to see what happens. I did just activate a new phone last night. This happened with the previous one as well, though (warrantied due to poor battery life).

Intellectua1

I was very excited about this update until the iOS part hit me like a Mack Truck

8675309

Already has

Chris

Alex mack…..

Suhas Vemuri

Seriously guys. Every single google app is better on iOS. Makes me very angry for some reason.

I share your anger with the social issues brother. But wouldn’t make sense discussing it on Droid-life.. It’s like going to MWC and protesting for women safety.

cizzlen

daft punk… sir, you are a great, great man.

Larizard

I don’t see the difference? It looks the same on my Nexus 5. Maybe you are talking about the tablet layout on a Nexus 7 perhaps?

Chris

Gmail theres a world of diference.

Chris Hannan

IDK. I prefer Gmail on Android. I can’t think of any Google app I like better on iOS than Android. Not that I don’t like any on iOS. The ones that are different are just different.

Chris

I prefet Gmail on iOS. The interface to me is a lot cleaner then a bunch of white boxy squares and what not

Chris Hannan

To me, the Android version just looks a little nicer.

Lynton

Android Gmail just looks a little bland to me. Too much grey and could look a bit cleaner in my opinion. That’s not to say iOS Gmail looks better though.

Chris Hannan

I definitely wouldn’t mind some improvements. But yeah, out of the two, I think Android’s Gmail looks better.

Sabil V

so , when Hangouts for Windows phone come ?

8675309

Whats windows phone?

John Smith

Because Android users are a captive audience.

Chris

most live on welfare…. oh wait.

TSON1

Why does iOS get translucent bars in Hangouts before we do? :((

Chris

Where in Android (app guidelines) do we get transparency?

Matthew Merrick

It’s called kitkat

Chris

as I said in the post

App guidelines.

meaning apps. not the OS

TSON1

Why would they add it if they didn’t want you to use it?

NexusMan

Because it’s “optimized for iOS7”

miri

Translucent nav/status bars and overlay status bars are not the same thing. The latter is what iOS7 uses and Android doesn’t support it.

Some developers have been misusing the translucent status bar feature to mimic the effect, but it’s really not intended for that (it would be illegible over Hangouts’ light grey status bar anyway), Google recommends against it and I personally think it looks terrible.

Larizard

I agree. The blur effect is very specific to iOS 7 (although I can see it creeping into Google+ now). This app is specifically designed with the Apple Design guidelines in mind.

TSON1

With the fadey effect that’s on apps such as Google Now in the Google Experience Launcher, don’t you think it’d be readable? I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.

rfranken

The is no explanation that makes this OK in my eyes. That being ios getting updates and features first.

Fry

You’ll get over it

Chris

Because its much eaiser to develop for iOS with less devices, OS versions and screen sizes to worry about then on Android.

BrianLipp

no, thats not why Google does it at all. If i was a betting man, i’d say they just use Nexus devices as the main development devices (and maybe a few flagships) so they develop for the same number of devices. They probably have separate teams making the apps, of course with crossover. The biggest thing is that Google usually waits for a big Android OS update to push out updates to their apps when it involves big changes like UI and a lot of added functionality.

Chris

Google I/O likely.

but it has been proven that its much easier to develop for iOs because of those said reasons.

BrianLipp

but it has nothing to do with why Google does iOS first.

Chris

You know this for sure?

BrianLipp

do YOU? Google makes the OS, it stands to reason that if there’s one group of developers that don’t have to worry or take extra time for the amount of devices, it’s them. Like i said, Google rarely releases big UI overhauls outside of I/O and the fall Nexus reveal. I’m willing to bet they will wait till then to release it, unless they are keeping the UI the same and just adding some features, then they’ll do it whenever. Everyone was complaining about Hangouts on iOS since they launched it, so it also stands to reason that they would want to fix that first, like with GMail, since there weren’t as many problems with the Android versions. People just like to start conspiracies or try and start flame wars.

8675309

Typical android fanboysim at its finest.

BrianLipp

Please go away.

Chris

Its just common sense if you studied both platforms. Besides Google has more then one team working on several projects and services.

As said above, Hangouts on iOS was far behind the android counterpart. These small features will come to Android eventually. Theres no need to throw a fit over it.

The only ones who are complaining are those closed minded folks who can’t really seem to bare the thought of people using platforms that they do not like. Hangouts, like most, if not all of Google services are cross-platform. Google isn’t like Apple and focuses on their own. They allow everyone to use their services and sometimes their competitors may get an update faster. Is it the end of the world? No. Does it mean they hate Android? No. They are just doing what their main focus is and has always been since 1998.

BrianLipp

I wasn’t “throwing a fit over it.” I was trying to point out other possibilities as to why this is on iOS first besides the old, tired “o, it’s all because of fragmentation” “argument”. Yes, that is sometimes the reason with apps, but i honestly believe that it is one thing that Google doesn’t worry about or factor in as much as it does with other developers. I honestly don’t care that it’s on iOS first, they’ve done this before, one example being with GMail.

Adrynalyne

Thats not even a probably. Different teams are a certainty.

ERIFNOMI

Then go elsewhere. Google probably doesn’t give a damn about you accepting their practices when it come to updating their apps cross-platform.

charesa39

Been waiting for video clips. Always been jealous of my friends with iMessage being able to send videos.

kixofmyg0t

Nice. Can’t wait for the Team Blackout version.

AbbyZFresh

Now where’s our Hangouts makeover for Android?

Why is it that Google always prefers iOS over their own platform is beyond me.

Chris

I dobut we’ll see a makeover. We may see these features

The Narrator

3 words. Key… Lime… Pie. Believe, yo.

Chris

Has Google even confirmed that we will even see a keylime pie? We thought kit kat was gonna be the “key lime pie” but look how that turned out.

hoosiercub88

Logically no, we won’t be seeing a KLP.. since we already got KitKat.. I think *I’m surely hoping* he’s just referring to the next iteration of Android and he’s not actually that dense.

Tyler

I’m still waiting for seamless integration between sending a SMS vs a hangout. Right now it feels very unpolished and not as easy as it should be. You should be able to set default ways to communicate and have it auto resend as SMS after a few minutes if it isn’t received. There should be one thread for each contact not one for this number one for another number and one for hangouts. /endrant

cabbiebot

I don’t mind iOS getting it first. After all, iphones haven’t kept pace at all with android devices so theres fewer of them, it makes sense to use them to beta test it for us!

Chris

Not really a beta test if its two separate platforms.

cabbiebot

Google Play Services are cross-platform.

Chris

The apps back end work differently though. Different code due to deferent Os.

Beta testing has NOTHING to do with it as you can still beta test apps on android.

App A can crash on both platforms but the cause of the crash could be diferent.

cabbiebot

err

Chris

Plus most apps work right out of the box so what is there to “beta test” ?

Fry

Then why are you crying about this?

The Narrator

Ah, fake accounts again.

Fry

And I bet we all know who it is.

The Narrator

Like I just mentioned above, I wish Disqus made you verify accounts by email and what not, easier to keep trolls out.

nosedive94

All I want is cross-device unified messaging. Sure, we technically have the same functionality as iMessage (you can’t do normal texting in iMessage for Mac), but if I can text from my computer with mySMS, then why can’t I do it with Hangouts?

Two things I always miss when I do a little phone switch up. iMessage is just fantastic!!

Gregg Sarra

Hey Google, how about expandable notifications…PLEASE.

Brian Wolfman

Just to be clear…..PLUS ONE!!!

BrianLipp

They need to get the notification syncing working first. they demonstrated it with Hangouts at I/O last year, but when i get notified on my phone and dismiss it, it is still in my notifications on my tablet.

Jason Rock

The funny thing about it is that you can still send things from the iphone and they will show up on android or pc hangouts you just can’t send them back until they upgrade the app.

The first thing that comes to mind is that Google Voice has been the same since this screenshot was taken -_-

Chris

I’m sure if the the deep part of android had a UI you’ll find things from the donut days. Just look at the recent windows releases. Theres still some windows 95/98 era dialog boxes and icons floating around.

NexusMan

So was iPhone

NexusMan

iPhone before Android

NexusMan

iPhone after Android

The Narrator

Pretty obvious.

Chris

So much you can do with an unlock screen and notification tray… Not defending them. I’m just sayin

NexusMan

You could start by using anything but the “Roboto” font. And definitely lose the bubbles. Past the lockscreen, you also have those cinematic weather animations HTC made all the rage years ago. But there’s more where that came from…

mx

That “Roboto” font is called Helvetica and Apple has been using it since before Android was even shipping.

NexusMan

The lockscreen, along with everything else pictured above, has changed and become more Android like.

Alisan_C

If you’d know anything about fonts you wouldn’t say Roboto is Helvetica.

joseph barrientos

maybe its copperplate?

NexusMan

And in all fairness, that Android prototype wasn’t copied from SONY, unlike the iPhone.

Chris

Never mentioned it was a copy…

NexusMan

Oh, I know. Just pointing out to everyone that all sides get their “inspiration” from elsewhere.

Chris

Pretty much anything can be an inspiration. Rarely is there any fresh, never been thought of before ideas and even then there will always be someone who will say ” Hey! I thought of that years ago!”

NexusMan

True, which is why it always enrages me when people (not you) act as if Apple invented the wheel. Apple, even acts like they invented the wheel. They have copied and borrowed from any and everyone for years, but when they do it it’s “innovation,” but if someone else does it (namely Samsung) it’s “stealing.”

Chris

Apple was more or less the brain child of the modern smartphone. It just took Google to give people something they never knew they wanted. sort of like how it was with the mac. The macintosh was big back in 1984 but well… we know the rest….

of course all that success pissed off Apple (mostly jobs) and that led to the copying.

NexusMan

I wouldn’t even use the generous term “brain child.” I would reserve a term like that for companies that did the real ground work, like Palm (didn’t they own the patent for the smartphone). Yes, Apple caused a shift in the market, but their main success was based on combining everyone else’s innovations into one easy to use interface. The major “innovation” of the iPhone over Palm was they eliminated the stylus. The iPhone has never been a technology trailblazer. It wasn’t in the beginning and it isn’t now. They have always, and continue to adapt existing technology, long after it’s introduction, into their fold and present it as if it’s new.

Chris

I was more in line with what we see as a smartphone today. Glass brick if you will that you touch to interact with.

If Apple didn’t come out with the iPhone would we see the types of phones we see today? perhaps. Perhaps we may also still be seeing and using blackberries and palms. Google’s phone would likly still be the blackberry style with perhaps a slider or two…

you bring up good points, but you need to look at the phone market in 2006 and how it was 2008 and onward. !0 years ago almost everyone had a razr. Now its a S4 or iPhone.

michael arazan

A glass brick that you touch to interact with, like TV screens in the 90’s?

NexusMan

I understand, which is why I said Apple shifted the market. However, it was a market that I do believe would have headed in that direction anyway. The next logical progression from Palm was to lose the stylus. I mean, is a glass brick of today not a clear descendant of the plastic brick of Palm Pilots from yesteryear? And as for the iPhone design, it was copied directly from SONY devices, so yes, the form factor would have happened eventually. The only thing is, Apple did it in that manner, on that scale, 1st, and people were so impressed by it, that any manufacturer in their right mind was going to try to piggyback on that “fresh” design laguage, and switch gears early on.They definitely caused the market to shift, at that time. I will give them that.

Glassyhole

Google Glass would be one.

michael arazan

Even Ford Copied the Assembly Line process from a smaller version done by a company with just a few employees. Except his was done on an epic scale.

Umm wat? I wasn’t being serious and neither was Tim( I think and hope)

The Narrator

Sarcasm flies by many

RAZR_FANN

Kellen has an iPod touch.

TimXer

just don’t understand why an android-based app, by GOOGLE, would ever be updated on IOS before android…makes ZERO sense

Chris

Hangouts isn’t android based. Its part of their Google Plus service that can be accessed on desktop/laptop PCs and macs.

Alisan_C

Someone make a petition.

I’ll sign 🙂

sdnvs

its something around an agreement between apple and google. Don’t worry once we get it we know its already better..

Mayoo

The agreement reads like so: “Google signs to make a lot of stuff for Apple. Meanwhile, Apple will sue the sh*t out of Google and their partners and will buy applications to shut their Android version down shortly after”

Mayoo

Android based or not, it is made by GOOGLE. You always start with your “home” stuff. I’m stretching it but it’s like all services that are U.S. only. What if Fiber would have been launched first in Japan? Same thing.

Asa Thomas

It’s like if Sony had released the PS4 in every territory 2-3 months before its home country of Japan …

… Wait. They did. -_-

The Narrator

Still didn’t hurt them 😉

mustbepbs

That was an intelligent business decision because they wanted to make sure Japanese gamers had a good launch lineup, rather than piecemeal the titles over a 6 month period, which is pretty standard for consoles. It seems to be paying off.

Asa Thomas

I just thought it was to help Sony keep up with the demand of the consoles at launch. They would devote all production to the territories where Xbox One presents the strongest competition in the first months all while knowing they’d sell boxcar loads of PS4s in Japan even if they arrived a little late.

I agree. It was pretty smart.

mustbepbs

Probably both.

Nick

Which was smart because it allowed them a short buffer to get the bugs out before releasing it to their most ferocious fan base

turdbogls

if the app is ready for prime time, you release it. why would google deny these updates to iOS users when they are ready to go?
yeah, it sucks, but I would do the same thing if i were trying to get as many people using the service as possible. would i like android to get the updates first, Yes, but am I butt hurt over it? nope. I understand they use separate teams to develope the apps…obviously iOS is easier to develope for.

Jayayess1190

There is a separate team that works on iOS Google apps, so maybe they are just faster.

Chris

Should be. Theres no dealing with a bunch of different devices, screen sizes, versons and “sub versons” (4.3 4.4. 4.4.2 etc)

Sure Apple might have that but its still not nearly as bad as android is.

I don’t care if theres ios apps. I own both android and apple devices. I’m not gonna throw a huge fit over nothing.

EvanTheGamer

Oh, look…Downvoting has changed. Read more! lol

The Narrator

Down voting doesn’t show but it still counts. Which is weird. Glad it’s gone though. Gives a reason for people to leave lol

EvanTheGamer

True this.

Intellectua1

Yes true. It almost seems pointless to vote now.. I don’t as much as I use to. I always thought the down votes were funny..

michael arazan

Only a couple articles out there about Disqus changing the down voting system out there, and they never even released a statement about it when it first started.

The Narrator

Yes, I am glad downvoting is gone. Now it won’t be obvious how annoying my posts are.

The Narrator

I really wish Disqus made you very emails and accounts before posting. Oh well. Trolls will be trolls.

Cowboydroid

Are upvotes now downvotes in certain obvious cases?

The Narrator

ADD is the darndest thing these days :p

EvanTheGamer

lol

chudilo

Does that mean that Objective C is a better Development platform than Java? Hey Google Android is your own platform , you change the rules!

The Narrator

Gotta give love to the enemy too, buddy.

EvanTheGamer

Probably because it’s easier to update Hangouts for iOS since they only have to deal with a small amount of iOS-based devices and not a whole wide range of Android-based devices.

Hangouts on android won’t change until May’ish when they shut down all the 3rd party google voice apps and bring in all the features over into hangouts. Mainly free VOIP calls.

normmcgarry

What makes you say that?

Cael

The real question is why does the android-based app by Google still suck.

normmcgarry

I believe the reason is because these core Android apps usually depend on an update to Google Play Services as well, so they can’t release the updated apps until they finish the latest update cycle of Google Play Services, and GPS usually has other big changes going on as well. Whereas on iOS, these updates are all self-contained in the apps and aren’t dependent on core OS updates, so they can push the updates immediately as they are finished.

Lunkman

Even though these changes coming to IOS is frustrating, the app is useless until it can sync texts between my Nexus 7 and my Moto X.

Chris

I still prefet the Gmail look on iOS over the android counterpart. Seems a lot cleaner imo.

Austin_tacious

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Synacks

It’s useless until it can Sync AND backup/restore SMS. I thought those were standard messaging features these days.

Would be really nice to have. Gotta come over eventually I would think.

ButcherChop

It’s great to see. I’m the only Android user in my busiest Hangout “Huddle”. They seem excited for the new update. I can’t wait to get it for my N5. 🙂

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